Age is just a number and this rings true even in today’s NHL. The game is getting younger and faster but veterans and older gentlemen will always have a place in the league.
The oldest active NHL players are a list of well-established future Hall-of-Famers but just because these old-timers have won a lot of personal awards and accomplished spectacular personal feats doesn’t mean they’ve been able to raise the Cup above their head. So, let’s take a look at the league’s 5 oldest players who have yet to raise the Stanley Cup.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
5. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare
4. Ryan Suter
3. Joe Pavelski
2. Zach Parise
1. Mark Giordano
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Oldest NHL Player Ever
Of everyone on this list, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare is the name you probably haven’t heard of. Yet, he’s the name that exemplifies the meaning of perseverance. Pierre is an undrafted player who entered the league as a 29-year-old rookie. He spent the preceding 5 years in the Swedish Elite/Hockey League, accumulating 125 points in 238 games. The Flyers took notice, as they signed him to a two-way one-year deal in the summer of 2014, in his first year, the French forward suited up in 81 of 82 regular season games scoring 6 goals and 12 points, while averaging 12:49 minutes of ice time per game. Despite only entering the league one year before turning 30 Pierre has been extremely durable. He has suited up in 660 games over the past 9 years.
The smooth-skating French forward known for his defensive and face-off abilities, has been to the Stanley Cup Final twice, once with Vegas and then with the Tampa Bay Lightning, but has failed to hoist the Cup himself. Currently, with the Seattle Kraken and in his 10th NHL season a Stanley Cup would be an amazing achievement and a nice cap-off to Pierre’s unique hockey career.
Unlike the player preceding him, Ryan Suter finds himself on this list as a player who has spent nearly half his life playing in the NHL. Drafted #7th overall in the 2003 NHL Draft by the Nashville Predators, Ryan entered the league in the 2005-06 season suiting up in 71 games. Ryan is a true workhorse defensemen, he has been in the league for 19 seasons and has averaged over 20 minutes a game in 17 of those seasons and out of those 17 seasons 9 of them he has averaged more than 25 minutes a game. He’s been to the all-star game 3 times, was a Norris Trophy front runner and a First-Team NHL All-Star.
Ryan has suited up in 116 career playoff games but has unfortunately never made it past the NHL Conference Finals. However, as a member of the Dallas Stars, his chances of winning the Stanley Cup have never been better. The Stars have advanced to the Cup Final and Conference Final once each in the past 4 years and this might be the year where Mr. Suter raises the Cup for himself.
Funny enough, the next name on this list is Joe Pavelski, a teammate of Ryan Suter’s and a member of the Dallas Stars. Joe is one of those players who truly defies father-time. Last year Joe scored 28 goals and 77 points in all 82 games and this has been the theme of his entire NHL career. Joe has suited up in over 1,300 NHL games and has accumulated more than 1,050 points!
His regular season success has carried on into the postseason as he’s scored 139 points but this hasn’t translated into a Stanley Cup…yet.
There isn’t a grittier player on this list than Zach Parise. A smallish forward at 5’11”, Zach is a player who is the perfect combination of speed and hard-nosed play and has been a force his entire NHL career. The two-time Hobey Baker Finalist had four 30+ goal seasons in his first 5 years in the league and his hard work has earned him numerous NHL achievements such as a silver medal in the 2010 Olympics and a selection among the league best as a member of the NHL Second-All-Star team in 2009.
Zach sat out the first half of the 2023-24 season and signed with the Colorado Avalanche. He’s joining forces with premier players Nathan Mackinnon, Cale Makar and Mikko Rantanen which ought to give him one of the best chances, if not the best chance, of winning his first-ever Stanley Cup.
Mark Giordano takes the crown as the oldest NHL player in the league today. Mr. 40-year old is a rare example of someone who never gave up. He entered the league undrafted and spent his first NHL seasons, 2005-06 and 2006-07, as an on-and-off member of the Calgary Flames scoring 16 points in 55 games played. Giordano would spend the next season in the KHL but the following here he returned. I’m not sure what happened, maybe the water is different in Russia but since returning he has never taken his foot off the gas pedal. He went on to play the next 13 seasons straight with the Calgary Flames, spending 8 seasons as Captain and earning the Norris Trophy in 2018-2019 as the NHL’s best defensemen.
Not only is Gio, the oldest active player to have never won the Cup but he is also the oldest active NHL player in the league. The fan favourite is a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs and this top-heavy all-offence team has been a Cup favourite for many years. This is their best shot as any in recent years to end Toronto’s 56-year Cup drought, but also Gio’s drought as well.
The player who takes the spot as the oldest player in NHL history is also one of the best, Gordie Howe. His final NHL game was with the Hartford Whalers on April 6th, 1980, he was 52 years old.
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